OC-led consortium partner up with Adnoc, Taqa on USD 2.4 bn sustainable water supply project

Good morning, wonderful people. The news cycle has slowed as we slide in the weekend, but we have a couple of big stories making headlines this morning.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- A consortium of Orascom Construction, Metito, Adnoc, and Taqa will establish a USD 2.4 bn mega seawater treatment and water supply project in the UAE.

^^ We have the details on this story and more in the news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY- The second meeting of the COP27 Transitional Committee is kicking off today in Bonn, Germany and running until Saturday, 27 May. The meeting will build on the loss and damage fund established during COP27 with the aim of establishing institutional mechanisms and governance structures for financing, and will bring together a host of international financial institutions to discuss pathways to increasing funding capacity for climate vulnerable countries.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Members of UN’s Net Zero Ins. Alliance to convene for emergency meeting after multiple exits: Members of the world’s largest climate association for ins. companies, the UN’s Net Zero Ins. Alliance — which includes ins. giants such as Allianz, Aviva, and Generali Group — will hold an emergency meeting today after Zurich-based reinsurance firm Zurich RE joined Hannover Re, Zurich Ins. Group, and Munich RE in exiting the group. While Zurich RE said the reason for its departure was to focus on helping its clients transition to a low carbon economy, Munich Re explicitly noted antitrust concerns led to its withdrawal from the climate alliance. The exits are drawing skepticism among industry leaders on the utility of voluntary industry associations aiming to slash carbon output. The story was picked up by Reuters and Bloomberg.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Egypt plans to launch an alliance to increase accessible green finance for developing countries next September, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a statement. Speaking at the Net Zero Delivery Summit in London, Maait said the alliance aims to facilitate and unlock spending for “developing and African countries to invest in green projects through concessional financing,” adding that several unnamed African and non-African countries and regional and international financial institutions have expressed interest in joining the initiative led by Egypt. Maait reiterated recent incentives put forth by the Egyptian government to stimulate the country’s nascent green hydrogen industry including tax breaks of between 33-55% on income earned from the plants.

The beat goes on: Maait has repeatedly urged developed nations and financial institutions to increase climate financing to developing countries. He called on development finance institutions on the sidelines of COP27 last year to step up with “more financing at a reasonable cost and on reasonable terms” to climate-exposed countries. “The amounts required for implementation are huge,” Maait said. “Now, we are talking tns, not bns” of USD, he said at the time.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #2- The aviation industry’s 2050 net zero target may be beyond reach, Reuters quotes Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker as saying. Insufficient availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrogen, and other clean-energy supplies make it likely the sector will miss its carbon neutrality target. “I don’t think that we will be able to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Everybody’s talking about it but let us be realistic — there is not enough production of sustainable aviation fuel,” Al Baker said.

Echoing Boeing’s concerns on the practicality of SAFs: US aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing has said that the transition to SAF will not be as cost-effective as jet fuel. The company’s CEO David Calhoun also voiced concern this week that government efforts to make the transition to SAF affordable — such as the US Inflation Reduction Act’s tax breaks for SAF adoption — will not be enough to achieve price parity with conventional jet fuels.

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WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Embattled Verra CEO resigns: David Anatolli, the CEO of US-based voluntary carbon credit certification body Verra, will step down in June following claims that the company approved mns in “worthless” credits, Anatolli said in a statement on LinkedIn. Anatolli said Verra remains the “leading standard-setter” of the carbon accreditation industry, and that current company President Judith Simon would succeed him as interim chief executive when he steps down next month.

REMEMBER- 90% of Verra’s credits are allegedly inconsequential: An investigation published last January by The Guardian, German weekly Die Zeit, and nonprofit investigative journalism organization SourceMaterial revealed that over 90% of the offsets provided by Verra are phantom credits, with only a handful showing evidence of reducing deforestation. Climate-focused organizations including Greenpeace warn that carbon credits in general are a “scam” that enables corporations to greenwash their carbon output. The world’s first carbon trading schemes were established in the 1990s to facilitate the exchange of carbon credits for companies and governments unable to meet their CO2 mitigation targets.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit from Monday, 29 May to Wednesday, 31 May in Abu Dhabi. The conference will bring together state representatives, industry players from the EV sector, as well as engineers and researchers to discuss policy trends and tech innovations in the industry and provide attendees with networking opportunities across value chains.

Qatar will host the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Forum from Monday, 29 May to Thursday, 31 May in Lusail City. The event aims to spotlight MENA’s CCUS regulations and policies, map out paths and business models that would bring down CCUS project costs, promote regional and international cooperation to advance the international carbon capture sector, and discuss the role CCUS will play in helping Gulf countries meet their net zero targets.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

A new sustainable water project for UAE big oil: A consortium comprising Orascom Construction (OC), Metito, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) will establish a USD 2.4 bn mega seawater treatment and water supply project in the UAE, according to statements by the consortium (pdf) and Adnoc.

The details: The large-scale greenfield project includes a seawater nanofiltration plant with a treatment capacity of over 110 mn imperial gallons per day (c. 500k m3/day) to serve Adnoc’s onshore operations. It will also include seawater intake and outfall facilities, pumping stations, a 75-km water transmission pipeline and an in-field distribution network of over 230 km to support reservoir pressure maintenance in the Bab and Bu Hasa oil fields in Abu Dhabi.

Energy efficiency all the way: The project will replace the aquifer water injection systems currently used by Adnoc in its onshore oil fields, allowing a sustainable water supply for the state oil giant’s onshore operations and preserving the country’s natural aquifer resources. It will also boost energy efficiency by up to 30% and slash Adnoc’s environmental footprint in comparison with the currently used injection system.

Where is the money coming from? The project will be funded through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) model for 30 years, the statement notes. It will then be returned to Adnoc after the 30-year period ends. Adnoc and Taqa will jointly hold a 51% stake in the SPV, while Orascom Construction and Metito will each own 24.5% of the entity.

REMEMBER– Adnoc has taken several steps to reduce its carbon footprint: Earlier this year, Adnoc said it will allocate USD 15 bn to decarbonization projects by 2030. The projects include investments in clean power, carbon capture and storage, electrification, and energy efficiency. The company set up a new division late last year focused on low-carbon solutions and international growth. It also reached financial close with Taqa last September on a USD 3.8 bn project to build a subsea transmission network designed to reduce emissions at offshore production facilities by providing them with mainland power.

Brazil’s Vale, UAE’s AD Ports to establish a hub for low-carbon steel materials: The UAE’s AD Ports Group and Brazilian mining firm Vale have inked an MoU to develop a mega steelmaking hub in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (Kezad) to source materials essential to low-carbon steel production for Abu Dhabi steel manufacturing sector, according to a statement. Kezad would allocate land and related services to support Vale and AD’s planned project under the agreement, the statement notes. The timeline, production capacity, and price tag of the integrated industrial complex were not disclosed.

The facility: Vale and AD Ports’ hub in Kezad will produce low-carbon products for the steelmaking industry for both local and overseas markets, the statement said.

What they said: “We are encouraged by this opportunity to build a mega hub in the UAE, a country which is strategically positioned to positively influence our drive to significantly reduce CO2 emissions around the globe. Our ability to leverage this new concept of using low-carbon technology in the production of hot briquetted iron (HBI) signals the success of our products globally,” Vale CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo said in the statement.

Vale is also expanding its operations in Oman: The Brazilian firm — which in February signed an agreement to repurchase its 30% stake in Vale Oman from Omani state-owned energy investment company OQ — finalized a land reservation agreement with the Port of Duqm Company for three production plants that will source materials essential to Oman’s low-carbon steel making industry this week. The three production facilities will secure materials critical to green steel production including hot briquette iron (HBI) — which is 60% less carbon-intensive than conventional materials when produced using natgas — and direct reduced iron.

And KSA may be getting a Vale iron ore production hub: Vale signed an MoU with Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Development Center back in November to study establishing a USD 1.1 bn iron ore pellet mega hub producing some 4 mn tons of iron ore pellets annually in KSA’s Ras Al-Khair industrial zone.

AfDB annual meeting showcases bankable renewables projects: The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) annual meeting of the board of governors kicked off in Sharm El Sheikh earlier this week, bringing together finance ministers and central bank governors from 81 member countries. The officials discussed a framework for spurring private financing domestically and globally and help bridge the climate financing gap and promote the transition to green growth in Africa. Also attending are investors and multilateral financial institutions, who have been presented with potential green investments in Africa. The assembly will conclude tomorrow.

Africa Investment Forum showcases four green projects: Investors were presented with renewable projects worth USD 1.5 bn in a roundtable discussion, according to the bank’s website. The projects included two hydropower projects — one in the south of the continent and the other in the west — a hybrid green hydrogen and ammonia project in North Africa, and a plastic recycling initiative that spans across seven African countries. The ownership and specific locations of the projects were not disclosed. The Africa Investment Forum is a platform that helps companies advance projects to bankable stages, raise capital, and reach financial closure.

The projects need additional funding to launch operations: The hydropower project in southern Africa is looking to raise USD 12.5 mn to finalize the project’s development phase, the website notes. The total cost of the project is USD 440 mn and will generate 544k MWh of energy per year. The second hydropower project in an unspecified country in West Africa — which has passed its feasibility study phase — will have a capacity of 27 MW and will increase the country’s total electricity generation capacity by 10%. The hybrid green hydrogen and ammonia facility is requesting a USD 27 mn investment to reach financial close and aims to produce 1k tons a day of green ammonia using 183 tons of green hydrogen powered by 400 MW of renewables. Finally, a USD 73 mn plastic recycling initiative that aims to remove 214k metric tons of plastic waste was also seeking investors at the roundtable.

Who was there? Representatives from the forum’s founding partners attended the roundtable, including the AfDB, the Africa Finance Corporation, the infrastructure investment platform Africa 50, the Islamic Development Bank, the Trade and Development Bank, Afreximbank, the European Investment Bank, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. A number of private investors, including venture capital and private equity firms, were also in attendance, the website added.

More to come later this year: The forum will hold a series of investor roundtables ahead of its flagship Market Days event scheduled for 8 to 10 November 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.

AFC to collaborate on green projects with Japan: The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) signed an MoU with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to work on accelerating the rollout of projects supporting Africa’s energy transition, such as renewables, green and blue hydrogen and ammonia, energy efficiency, and carbon capture and storage, according to a statement.

REMEMBER- Infinity and Masdar’s joint venture, Infinity Power — in which AFC is a key shareholder — acquired the Africa-focused wind power platform Lekela Power in March, making it the largest renewable energy company in Africa.

African leaders double down on need for climate finance: AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said that Africa needs USD 2.7 tn by the end of the decade to combat climate change, according to a statement. Only 14% of the funds earmarked for Africa from global climate funding come from the private sector, the bank president added. Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly noted that the African continent needs nearly USD 3 tn over 10 years to tackle the impacts of climate change, according to a statement. Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hassan Abdalla called for shifting from debt to capital financing for climate projects. In an interview with CNBC, AfDB Secretary General Vincent Nmehielle said that both banks and governments are now prioritizing private sector participation.

Al Jaber chimes in on expanding private finance: COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber said in a speech at the annual conference that the flow of private capital needs to be mobilized by “fundamentally reforming international financial institutions (IFIs) and multilateral development banks” and “adopting policies and regulations that create a favorable investment climate for the private sector” in efforts to unlock more concessional finance, lower risk, and attract private capital, Wam reported.

And met with AfDB president and African leaders to discuss COP28: Adesina sat with Al Jaber to discuss the need for reforming IFIs and the contributions that the bank can make to aid in delivering concrete solutions in the lead up to COP28. In a meeting with the chair of the African Union, Al Jaber talked about the importance of identifying and prioritizing the adaptation requirements for all African member states at COP28, as well as ways to facilitate renewable energy investments in Africa.

Egypt’s sovereign fund wants to encourage private sector participation: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) is preparing standards for sustainable financing in partnership with the CBE and a package of green incentives for the private sector in partnership with the finance and environment ministries, the country’s Planning Minister Hala El Said told director of the French Development Agency in Egypt Clemence de La Blache, according to a statement. El Said also announced that the fund is close to launching the Green for Growth platform to help manage the country’s green projects.

Egypt got a helping hand: AfDB has mobilized USD 2.2 bn to improve Egypt’s water security under the government’s Nexus for Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) program, up from the initially targeted USD 1.4 bn, Adesina said during his speech. The bank’s Just Green Transition initiative, which utilizes financial and technical support from the Climate Investment Funds to help African nations transition to “low-carbon and climate-resilient development,” has over USD 14.8 bn of projects in the pipeline for Egypt’s NWFE program.

REMEMBER- One day ahead of the conference, AfDB approved a partial guarantee of USD 345 mn to help Egypt access the panda bond market to finance green and social projects.

AfDB has surpassed its climate financing target this year: The bank hit the 45% mark allocated to climate related financing this year, exceeding the 40% goal it had set, according to the bank. Last year, the bank also announced that 67% of its climate finance goes to adaptation, well over its 50% target.

A joint fund being set up by the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) plans to start making investments in 4Q 2023, according to a statement released earlier this week. The two wealth funds will target companies and projects in the pharma, food, and renewables sectors, the statement notes.

We knew this was in the works: Speaking to the media this week during Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tarek’s visit to Egypt, head of the General Authority for Freezones and Investment Hossam Heiba announced that the two sides would establish the fund, reviving a plan first floated almost four years ago. The fund will participate in Egypt’s state privatization program, he said, without disclosing the fund’s value.

Could it be wind? The OIA is reportedly mulling investments in Egypt’s wind projects under its partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, Daily News Egypt reported, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The government-owned 580 MW Gabal El Zeit and 545 MW Zafarana wind farms are among the assets the OIA is looking at in cooperation with Acwa Power, the sources reportedly said. The OIA plans to pour USD 1 bn this year into wind projects as part of a larger plan to invest USD 5 bn in the country, they said.

REMEMBER- The wind farms have been attracting investor interest: Acwa Power, the UAE’s Alcazar Energy, Hassan Allam Utilities, and our friends at local renewables firm Infinity are reportedly among seven companies interested in acquiring the country’s two largest wind farms. The Gabal El Zeit and Zafarana wind farms were both included in the list of 32 companies and assets earmarked for privatization in February and have attracted significant interest among investors, with the sales reportedly expected to be completed before the end of 2023.

Algeria and Portugal may collaborate on renewables: Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune landed in Lisbon yesterday where he met with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and discussed upping renewables-focused partnerships (watch, runtime 2:40). Tebboune also met with Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Costa and signed a cooperation agreement said to focus on expanding bilateral trade including renewables, according to the Algerian State Press.

REMEMBER- Algeria is looking to supply Europe with clean energy: Algeria charged state-owned gas company Sonelgaz with the production of 15 GW from renewables last January and will invite bids from local and international firms for phase one of the project — with a capacity of 2 GW — by the end of 1Q 2023. The country has a 25 GW electricity production capacity and is working on completing studies on the export of electricity to Europe through subsea cables, Algerian Energy Minister Mohammed Arkab said back in April, without naming the entities or countries involved. The Europe-bound electricity will be produced by gas-operated power plants as well as solar plants that are still being developed by Algeria.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted delegations from Guatemala and Indonesia to explore potential partnerships in renewables and food security. (Wam)

Emirates Global Aluminium, BP partner on reducing CO2 intensity: State-owned aluminum manufacturer Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) signed a non-binding agreement with British oil firm BP to explore pathways for pushing down the emissions of the company’s calcined petroleum coke (CPC) supply chain, according to Wam. A timeline and price tag on the projects that will fall under the umbrella of the non-exclusive agreement were not disclosed.

What’s this CPC they speak of? CPC — a carbon-rich solid with a hydrocarbon composition of between 90-97% — is a critical component of aluminum production. CPC is produced by heating raw petroleum coke to temps ranging between 1.2k-1.35k°C to remove hydrocarbons and excess moisture in a bid to create electrically conductive anodes, according to research by oil and gas firm Oxbow.

The details: EGA — which uses some 1 mn tons of petroleum coke annually and has been sourcing a chunk of its supply from BP since 2012 — wants to jointly study mechanisms of minimizing its carbon footprint from CPC utilization and could set up a CPC blending facility in the UAE to support more emissions-efficient of CPC production, according to the news agency.

REMEMBER- EGA has been making moves to decarbonize its operations: In November, the company purchased clean energy certificates for 1.1 mn MWh of electricity from the Emirates Water and Electricity Company to support its production of its solar aluminum brand CelestiAL. EGA was also the first UAE-headquartered firm to join the First Movers Coalition by committing to sourcing the materials it needs for aluminum production from low-carbon sources, and signed an agreement earlier in September with the UAE’s Energy and Infrastructure Ministry to join the UAE Hydrogen Leadership Initiative, exploring prospects for decarbonization across industries and the possible use of low-carbon hydrogen.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• The Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations is eyeing a number of potential investments in Morocco’s renewables sector. (SNRT News)
• Oman will kick off operations at its Sustainability Center by the end of the year in a bid to realize its national carbon neutrality target for 2050. (Oman Daily Observer)

JP Morgan to earmark USD 200 mn for carbon capture: US investment banking giant JP Morgan Chase has pledged a USD 200 mn financing package for carbon removal projects, inking several agreements with carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS) and direct air capture firms for the purchase of durable carbon credits, according to a statement.

Setting up a direct air capture plant in Iceland: The bank signed an agreement with Swiss direct air capture tech solutions startup Climeworks where it will invest USD 20 mn to help the company establish its second CCUS plant in Iceland. Prior to JP’s investment, the Zurich-based firm raised USD 762 mn over nine funding rounds from a mix of venture capital investors and corporations including Microsoft, and opened the doors of its first carbon capture plant in Iceland back in 2021.

SOUND SMART- Direct air capture is not the same as CCUS: Direct air capture tech — unlike conventional CCUS technologies which extract carbon from point sources — sequesters greenhouse gasses before they are released into the atmosphere using chemical reactions, according to the World Research Institute.

Other agreements: JP Morgan has also signed a five-year agreement with California-based CCUS startup Charm Industrial for the purchase of some 28.5k CO2 tons worth of carbon credits, and a non-binding agreement with CO280 Solutions that could see JP Morgan offset some 45k tons of carbon over 15 years if finalized, according to Bloomberg. The values of the agreements have not been disclosed.

JP isn’t the only one going big on carbon removal: Earlier this month, tech titan Microsoft signed an agreement with renewables developer Orsted A/S to purchase 2.76 mn tons of durable carbon credits from Orsted’s biomass energy and carbon capture plants in Denmark. And over in our neck of the woods, UAE renewables firm Masdar signed an agreement with French aircraft manufacturer Airbus to jointly develop sustainable aviation fuels using direct air capture tech.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discussed establishing an economic framework agreement on mining minerals critical to EV production (Reuters)
• Spain intends to increase its carbon output reduction target to 30% below its 1990 emissions by 2030, up from its current target of 23%. (Reuters)